Family Ties
by GryffindorGoddess28
Summary: AU. No matter what he did, James couldn't get Remus to help him in the pursuit of Lily Evans. He begged, he pleaded, he bribed, but Remus just flat out refused to help. Why? Well, would you help someone break the heart of YOUR sister?
1. Family Matters

**SUMMARY:** AU. No matter what he did, James couldn't get Remus to help him in the pursuit of Lily Evans. He begged, he pleaded, he bribed, but Remus just flat out refused to help. Why? Well, would you help someone break the heart of YOUR sister?

**DISCLAIMER:** As you all know, everything is J.K. Rowling and I am insanely envious.

**CHAPTER 1: Family Matters**

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Pillows did nothing to muffle the blaring of an alarm clock.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

...And one cannot hit the snooze button from 10 feet away without getting out of bed.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

It's a shame that it is impossible to sleep through such an infuriating annoyance.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

So, of course, any sane person is left with just one option:

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BE- CRASH

Sleepily, the girl had leaned over her bed just slightly, eyes still closed, and felt for the cord attached to the most annoyinginvention in the _entire_ universe and tugged, unplugging the monstrosity, allowing it to hit the floor. Resting her head back on the pillow, the exhausted teenager began to fall back into her peaceful sleep... That is, until someone pulled her comforter away and then proceeded to open the blinds.

"Reeeeeeeeeemus, what did you do that for?" Lily whined as she covered her head with a pillow from the blinding light.

"You broke _another_ alarm clock, Lils. I thought the whole point of putting it out of arm's reach was so that you had to _get up _to shut it off." Remus chuckled quietly as he saw Lily peek out from under the pillow to glare at him.

"Go away! It's summer! I need to sleep!" She replied grumpily.

"Hate to break it to you, but it's September 1st. Summer is officially over." Lily's eyes grew wide. She looked around wildly for her clock and saw it on her floor, in pieces.

"Oh, bludgers!" She jumped out of bed and turned to Remus. "What time is it?" she asked quickly while she began to search for clothes to wear.

"It's around 8:30. Mum wants us to be ready by 10, at the latest, and Petty is still snoozing, so I thought you might like to get in the loo before she hogs it up for hours..."

"When is she going to _move out_? She's engaged, why don't they just get it over with already?" Lily asked, frustrated that she couldn't find what she wanted to wear. Petunia ALWAYS woke up at 9:00 sharp and spent almost 3 hours in the bathroom. While Lily searched underneath her bed, Remus walked over to her desk, where she had a dress draped across it semi-neatly.

"Lily, what are you looking for?"

"I bought this lovely polka-dot dress over break that I have been _dying_ to wear. Do you see it?"

"Yup, it's right here, with a note on top that says 'Sept. 1st'." Lily banged her head on the bottom of the bed as she crawled out from underneath it.

"There it is! Why didn't you say something before?" She demanded, hitting Remus lightly on the arm. He just rolled his eyes and pushed her playfully. Quickly, Lily gathered up her things and went into the bathroom.

Fully dressed and ready, Remus carried his trunk downstairs and put it by the front door. Walking into the kitchen, he saw his mum and his stepdad already making breakfast.

"Morning, mum." He said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Morning, dad." Remus hadn't seen his real father since he was four, but Harry Evans had been a more of a father to him than his biological dad could ever be. Remus picked up a plate and helped himself to some scrambled eggs and toast, then poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Morning, Remmikins!" His mother exclaimed. Harry sniggered slightly at the face Remus made. He was not at all fond of his mother's pet names for him. Halfway through his scrambled eggs, Lily came tumbling down the stairs, her trunk in tow.

"Lily! Be careful!" Her father yelled up the stairs. Lily reached the bottom of the stairs, stood up and brushed herself off. She pushed her trunk next to Remus' and hopped into the kitchen, attempting to put her sneakers on as she walked.

"Oooh, toast!" Lily exclaimed and made a grab for a piece, losing her balance in the process. Toppling over, Lily tried to save herself by grabbing onto Remus, which only pulled him down with her.

"Lily!" Remus said accusingly as he stood and straightened his clothes.

"Sorry... I'm a little off-balance this morning.." Lily winced and attempted to look pitiful and apologetic at the same time.

"As opposed to other mornings when your totally off-balanced?" Remus muttered.

"Shut up!" Lily said, dropping her don't-get-mad-at-poor-little-me routine and pushing him a bit.

"Both of you, sit and eat. You have to leave soon!" Marie Evans scolded slightly, with a small smile on her face. "Your father will be driving you and he wants to get an early start."

"But, dad, it's not even 10 yet! How early do you want to leave?" Lily asked as she reached across the table for some scrambled eggs.

"I'd like to leave around a quarter after 10, because it will take fifteen minutes to get there. Then, we'll have enough time to go there and back for whatever you may have forgotten." Harry said, teasing his daughter. Lily pretended to pout a bit, but immdiately became more interested in her food.

"Lily, are you SURE you've packed everything? Because, I don't feel like getting there at 10:59 again." Remus said in his pacient, calm, you-are-incompetent that bugged the crap out of Lily.

"Yes, _Remmikins_, I've packed everything right down to my - Oh, bullocks! I've forgotten my planner again! Does anyone remember where I left it?" Lily asked, mostly to herself, as she pushed back her chair and jumped back up the stairs, leaving her parents and stepbrother chuckling quietly. As they all knew, their beloved Lily was always a bit disorganized, some may even say scatterbrained, and she was always bouncing from one thing to the next.

Remus was the calm one, the logical one, the one who made plans and followed them to the tee, getting everything done, while Lily played it all by ear and did things in her own time. One might even say that Remus was the sane one while Lily was... well, not as sane...a bit of a nutter, really. Of course, no one would dare say this to her face, in fear of incurring the redhead's deadly wrath.

"Okay! Now I am totally, completely, positively packed and ready!" Lily yelled down the stairs, with her planner in hand, along with a few other things she had forgotten to pack. As she began to bounce down the stairs two at a time, the whole household could hear Petunia's earsplitting shriek.

"DAAAAAAAAAD! THE _FREAK _MADE A MESS IN THE BATHROOM! AGAIN!" Simultaneously, Remus and Lily rolled their eyes. Petunia was the most obsessive-complusive person in the entire universe!

"Honestly! All I did was leave the toothpaste uncapped, and she goes and has a gigantic cow! It's her fault, practically dragging me out of the bathroom at exactly 9:01, because _she _needed to get in there!" Lily said, annoyed at her sister for making such a scene. Petunia rushed down the stairs in a frilly pukingly-bright pink bathrobe that was a smidge too short, screeching about Lily and her freakiness and how 'neither of them should even be allowing inside the house'. For the most part, everyone ignored the horse-faced, bony 20 year old's temper tantrum, but once she began to insult Remus as well, Lily drew the line.

"PETTY! PETTY! WOULD YOU SHUT UP FOR ONE MOMENT!" Petunia just stared at her, mouth open and eyes wide. She resembled a goldfish a bit though that _is _insulting fish everywhere..., but she was quiet.

"Thank you. Now, PLEASE stop insulting your BROTHER and myself, because neither of US are the freaks. YOU are the 20 year old graduate still living off of mummy and daddy, so put a sock in it. If anyone should get kicked out of this household, it is YOU. Now, I'd like to get back to eating my breakfast in peace, thank you very much!"

Petunia didn't know what to do. To speak now would be stupid, anyone who knew Lily knew that once you insulted her family, it was best to stay silent and not make any sudden movements. Of course, such rules did not apply to parents.

"Lily! Petunia! I am appalled at your behaviors! Apologize to one another this very instant!" A very outraged Marie exclaimed.

"Yes, Mum. Sorry, Petunia." Lily said sullenly, while Petunia just muttered bitterly, "Yes, Marie. Sorry, Lily."

Now, you may suppose it is quite odd, for Lily to call Marie mum and Petunia not to, considering they are sisters and have been related to their stepmother for an equal amount of time. But, you see, Petty was almost ten years old when her father remarried and never really accepted the nuptials. Even now, she refused to acknowledge Remus as her brother and Marie as a second mother (or even a motherly type figure...).

Lily, on the otherhand, embraced her new family at the young age of six and loved them as such. So, while Lily grew extremely close to both her stepbrother and stepmother, Petty distanced herself as far away as possible. Lily knew how much it hurt Marie when Petunia acted so scornfully. Even more than ten years later, it still hurt that Petunia couldn't even find a small space in her heart to squeeze Marie in.

Glaring at Petunia with a look that could kill, Lily sat down to finish her breakfast. Petunia stomped her way up the stairs. Lily noticed that her father had stood up and was now talking quietly with his wife, who seemed very upset... Lily felt a surge of anger at Petunia. Why would anyone want to make such a loving, kind woman feel so rotten?

Remus was just sitting in his chair, staring listlessly at his plate. He always did the best he could to ignore Petunia's comments of what "freaks" they were, but they still hurt him. After all, this girl was somewhat of a sister to him...kind of... sort of... deep, deep down inside, he cared about her... He was just glad she was the only one in the family who didn't know about his.. well... wolfiness. Then, she'd _really_ hate him.

"Don't let that get to you, mate. She's just being a royal pain in the arse. It wouldn't feel right to start the school year off without Petty insulting us." Lily said with a smile as she dug into her scrambled eggs.

Remus smiled weakly and cleared his throat. "Oh, I know. I'm not feeling to well, is all. _It's_ coming in a few days."

"Oh, yes, of course. Well, at least you'll be in Hogwarts, right?" she consoled, tryng to find the silver lining.

"Yes, but I'll also be missing a few days during the first week of school." he complained.

"Don't worry, I'll fill you in. You can even copy my notes, if you'd like," Lily said brightly.

"GASP! _Lily Evans_ is actually letting someone else see her precious notes! The honor! The glory!" Remus teased.

"Oh, shut up, you loser! I was JUST trying to be sisterly! No need to throw it in my face!" Lily mock-glared at Remus, who was pretending to faint from "all the excitement" as he clutched at his heart.

"Come on, you two, finish your breakfast. We leave in 10 minutes." Harry said, sitting down once again to attempt to read his paper

"Yes, sir!" Lily said, mock-saluting her father. It was amazing how much she didn't look like her dad. Lily was on the short side, only about 5'4'', with a slim frame and long, naturally red hair. According to him, she looked just liked her mother had looked, while Petunia took after his side of the family. Their father was an only child, but apparently Petunia was a "spitting image" of his mother. No one could figure out whether this was a compliment to Petty, or an insult to Grandmother Evans. The only thing Lily did get from Harry was his eyes. She had the same bright emerald eyes as her father.

Remus looked hardly anything like his petite, bright-eyed mother. Marie was a beautiful woman, with light brown eyes, olive skin, and long, straight hair. Remus, on the other hand, was towering over her at 6 foot, with sandy blonde hair and light brown-gray eyes. Remus apparently took after his father, who had been a wizard. Lily didn't know much about him, except that he left Marie when Remus was around 4, right after Remus had been bitten. It was a sore spot for Remus, so they didn't talk about him much, which was fine by Lily. If he caused them so much pain, she didn't want to know about him.

Lily just loved to look at the mess that made her family. No one resembled anyone else, except for a little bit of a skin tone here, eye color there. But still, they seemed to fit together perfectly. They were still a family, whether all the pieces matched or not. The very thought made Lily smile. They were a family, whether Petunia accepted it or not.


	2. Compare and Contrast

**SUMMARY:** AU. No matter what he did, James couldn't get Remus to help him in the pursuit of Lily Evans. He begged, he pleaded, he bribed, but Remus just flat out refused to help. Why? Well, would you help someone break the heart of YOUR sister?

**DISCLAIMER:** As you all know, everything is J.K. Rowling and I am insanely envious.

**Chapter 2: Compare and Contrast **

Lily ran her fingers through her hair, trying absently to tame it. She was dressed in a black and white polka-dotted dress that went down to about her knees and a black sweater over it, in case it got chilly. Her favorite part of this outfit was the way the dress spun as she twirled, amusing her to no end. She had her hair down and flying all over the place in the wind. Her eyes were lined with black eyeliner, the rest of her pale face bare of any makeup, aside from clear lipgloss.

Compared to Remus, Lily looked much more mismatched than she actually was, but she didn't care too much about what other people thought. There were too many rules involved with the way some people thought, and Lily didn't care for any of this stereotypical mumbo-jumbo-crap. Really, Lily just liked the way it all looked, it wasn't who she was or how she defined herself. Remus was often telling her the "message" she sent with her clothing, and Lily was often telling him she didn't care. It was how she dressed. But Remus thought that everyone was judging her based on her looks. Which was true, but they would do that anyway, so why change?

Of course, he was practically the poster child for the slogan "Dress For Success". He was the guy any girl would bring home to her parents, who would automatically love him, just from the sensible, gentlemanly way he was dressed. He was put together quite nicely, with his shirt pressed and a pair of comfortable jeans, his sneakers white and nice. He was the "perfect package", while Lily's clothes...well... spoke for themselves and never really made sense to anyone but herself.

It was curious how messy she looked compared to Remus. But, it didn't bother her how all over the place she was, it just let her get more things done. At least, that's what she insisted. She wasn't nearly as organized (or as productive) as Remus, but what fun would that be? It's not like anyone really compared her and Remus anyways. They were such opposites in the eyes of ...well, just about everyone.

She doubted whether anyone even knew they were related...they all probably just assumed they had met in first year and become friends, opposites attract and all that. Lily inwardly shrugged (because to shrug outwardly while talking to no one would lead to a few unnecessary questions), she didn't really mind if no one knew. What difference did it make? Just because people didn't know didn't mean she was any less related to Remus, so she didn't really care.

They arrived at the station at 10:35, which was lucky because Lily was suddenly reminded of their prefect's meeting (which they had missed the year before...and the year before that). After saying their goodbyes to Harry, the two teens casually walked through the barrier. Platform 10 and 3/4 materialized before their eyes.

"Help me get my trunk up, would you?" Lily asked Remus. The two of them managed to get both trunks on the train in a matter of seconds. The pair then walked to the Prefect's compartment, neither wanting to wait on the practically empty Platform. To their surprise, only the Head Boy and Girl were in the compartment, both looking quite bored.

"When does everyone get here?" Lily asked, waking the pair from their stupor.

"Oh, well, normally, all the prefects are here by around 5 till 11." The Head Boy replied.

"See, we didn't miss nothing these last two years, just four minutes. So, being late was no big deal." She stuck her tongue out at Remus.

"Didn't miss _any_thing, Lily. At least get your grammer right." Remus corrected her, smiling smugly

"Shut up. I'll say it whichever way I'd like to." Lily said in mock haughtiness and sat down, taking out a book from her bag.

"Whatcha got there?" Remus asked, curious. They had gone shopping for school supplies a week earlier, but he hadn't seen that one.

"Just a muggle book, by some woman named JK Rowling. Ever heard of her?" Lily asked curiously. The book had been a random find at a muggle book store when she had gone shopping with Marie a few weeks back.

"Nope, can't say that I have. What does she write?" Remus asked, intrigued.

"Muggle fantasy. You'd be amazed at some of the things she comes up with! Nothing even close to real magic. It's quite funny, actually." Lily said, settling down a bit to read.

"Can I borrow it when you're done?"

"Of course. Just remind me. This woman's got some imagination, I haven't been able to put this book down!" Lily pushed the hair out of her face and began to read. The Head Boy and Girl fell back into their daydreams, leaving Remus alone and quite bored.

"I'm going to go look around a bit and see who's here." Remus stood up and stretched a bit.

"Okay, well, be back by 5 to 11. Wouldn't want to miss another meeting, would you?" Lily teased her brother, who just stuck his tongue out at her and left the compartment. Settling herself back in her seat, Lily began to read the curiously imaginatively book.

Remus stepped off the train and almost immdiately saw three of his best mates, Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew. They waved him over and he thread his way through the small crowd. James Potter was around 6' 2'', just a hair taller than Sirius. He had dark hair that was absolutely unmanagable, and it drove the girls absolutely wild when he mussed it up even more. Sirius, with hair darker than James' and much easier to control, was leaning against a wall while he spoke to James, occasionally stopping to wink at a girl passing by. Peter was sitting on his trunk, a small boy with beady eyes and a face resembling a rat, staring up at his friends adoringly.

"What are you doing here so early, usually, you jump on the train just as it begins to pull out." James teased, a smirk on his face.

"Didn't want to miss the prefect meeting, I've never actually made it early enough to catch the beginning." Remus shrugged.

"Oh. Whaddya doin' out 'ere, then?" Sirius asked, his mouth full with half of a pumpkin pastie.

"No one was there, except Lily and the Head students, who said that everyone shows up around 5 til 11, so I don't really have to worry for a bit." Remus leaned against a near-by wall, looking down slightly at the ground. Bringing up Lily never slipped by unnoticed.

"Evans, eh? Trust her to show up early. Probably's been there since 9:00, knowing her." James joked. Remus chuckled, but only because of how wrong James was and how little James really knew her. Lily was hardly on time for anything, except class, of course. She wouldn't have even been _awake_ by nine if Remus hadn't woken her up.

"Hey, Prongsie, you think you'll finally catch her this year?" Sirius asked James, his tone challenging. Remus stiffened a bit. He hated when they talked about Lily like this. Since the middle of their fifth year, ever since Sirius had dared James to ask out Lily, James has been pestering her nonstop for a date. Remus knew all too well that James was just asking her out because she refused to go out with him, which is exactly what he told Lily.

If he knew James had any real feelings for her, Remus would have helped him out a bit, with a few clues here, a push or shove there, but it was all a big game to James. Remus knew that when Lily got involved with someone, whether it was a friendship or a relationship or anything, she was extremely heartfelt and passionate and genuine. She'd be loyal and loving, and she'd get crushed when he dumped her a week later.

He didn't want her to get hurt, so he asked her not to date him, for his own sake. He didn't have to worry, though. His very stubborn sister already decided she did NOT like arrogant, bullying toerags which is exactly how James acted around girls he wanted to make swoon), so there was nothing to worry about. Not that James wasn't a great guy, because he was the best friend anyone could ask for. Remus just knew James was a very horrible boyfriend to the girls he deemed worthy to date him. Easier this way, than to let James play with her heart when he really couldn't care less about her.

"You know I will." James said smugly, ruffling his hair and winking at a few girls nearby. Remus just rolled his eyes.

"What, you don't think he will, Moony?" Sirius asked, having caught the eye-roll.

"Nope, I think her mind is made up." Remus shrugged. James sighed a deep, elaborate, exaggerated sigh.

"Well, maybe if a certain someone, who has had prefect duty with her and has been her friend since _first year_ didn't refuse to help me at ALL, maybe I could change her mind." James retorted casually.

"I will not help you, as I've said before, because I think it's wrong to use my friendship with her to your advantage, when you really don't fancy her anyway." Remus said just as calmly, arms crossed in front of him.

"Hey! That's a low blow! Who says I don't fancy her?" James said, pretending to be more offended that he actually was. Remus raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"It just so happens I am head over heels in love with Miss Evans." James stated, matter-of-factly.

"We've had this arguement before James. You have no real feelings for her, I'm not going to help you break her heart, end of story, ok?"

"That's a bit unfair, isn't it? Look, I just want one date, is all!"

"And why is that? Why do you want her to give you a chance so badly?"

"Because after he snogs her, he'd've snogged every girl in 5th, 6th and 7th, excluding Slytherins, of course." Sirius interupted, finally finished with his pastie.

"Shut up, Padfoot." James muttered, shoving Sirius backwards. Remus just looked at James knowingly, then glanced at the clock.

"Oh, gotta go. Prefect meeting." Remus said and walked back onto the train, waving to a few people here and there. After he left, and Sirius manged to get most of the dirt off his pants, James leaned over and asked,

"Why do ya reckon he's so protective of Evans?" Sirius shrugged.

"Maybe he fancies her or something..." James shook his head.

"No, he'd tell us. Besides, he knows that if I knew he fancied her, I'd back off." Though as James said it, he knew it wasn't true. The compulsion to date that girl was far too strong- he knew he couldn't give up now. He knew he really did fancy her now. There was something special about her that James could just not get enough of and it drove him crazy how much she seemed to hate him.

"Well, do ya think it's because they're real close friends or something? I mean, they study together sometimes and have prefect stuff together. And, you know that she's been his friend a bit longer than even we have." James shrugged. For some reason, it irked him that Lily would be willing to study with _Remus_, to talk to _Remus_, and to even become friends with _Remus_, but hated the every sight of himself. Couldn't he catch a break?

"You reckon she's told Remus if she hates me?" James asked suddenly, his voice thoughtful.

"Dunno mate, but if she did, Remus isn't one to go spilling out her secrets and the like. Besides, if she hated you, she'd've said it to your face. She's a bit outspoken, in case you hadn't realized." Grabbing his trunk, he followed James to load the trunks on the train, with Peter trailing behind.

"Yeah, I suppose so.." James said uncertainly as he watched Sirius load his trunk. Then, James helped Peter with his.

"C'mon, lets get to our compartment before anyone else takes it." That made Sirius laugh, his laugh sounding more like a bark.

"Who would dare sit in _our_ compartment. I mean, we are the Marauders, aren't we?" That made James' smile widen. The three of them walked to the end of the train and made themselves comfortable in the last compartment, their compartment. At exactly 11 o'clock, the train began to move, pulling away from the Platform with a few last goodbyes from various students.

The prefect meeting, in reality, couldn't have been more boring. Lily assumed it might have been more interesting, had they not known everything that was being said already. The meeting was more for the 5th year prefects who didn't know what was going on. Remus was just as bored, though he would never admit it to Lily. All summer, he complained how much they had missed at this meeting and how he did not want to miss it _again_, only to find it was completely uninformative. He knew all the rules and rights and all the rubbish that the Head Boy and Girl kept going over.

After twenty extremely painful minutes passed, they were dismissed, all with patrolling assigments. Lily and Remus only had to patrol for an hour or two, but not until after the snack trolley finished it's rounds. After leaving the Prefect's compartment, Lily and Remus seperated, Remus to find the other Marauders and Lily to find Izzy, who usually sat somewhere in the middle of the train, along with the other girls.

"Oi! REMUS!" Lily doubled back and called after her brother, who was halfway down the corridor. He made his way back to her.

"What?" He asked, exhaustion in his voice. Lily's smile faded, replaced with a look of concern.

"Are you alright? You'll make sure to sleep on the train a bit, won't you?" Lily asked, worried he might push his strength, like he had done a few times before, and end up collapsing or something.

"Yes, mum, I will." Remus reassured her, his voice teasing. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, I almost forgot to give you this." She handed him a small sack of money. "Mum had given me it, said that her ickle Remmi-diddums had forgotten it. Apparently, you left it on the counter and Mum had to drive it over here. I had gotten off the train to stretch my legs and she spotted me." Lily smiled broadly at Remus, who hardly ever left anything anywhere... that was usually Lily's job.

"Thanks ever so much. Why didn't she just give it to me?" Remus asked as he pocketed the money. "I was outside, too."

"I dunno, she must not have seen you. There were a lot of people on the platform, you know." Lily shrugged. "So, I'll see you later, Rem. I'm going to go find Izzy and the rest of them."

"Why don't you two come sit with me and the guys? I know you don't want to spend such a long time with _those_ girls." Remus offered, feeling bad that Lily felt she couldn't hang out with him.

"Shut up, those girls happen to be the girls I live with. And Izzy's my best friend, right along with you! Besides, I'd rather spend it with those girls than with _those_ guys; _those_ girls don't hate me!" Lily protested, trying to defend her friend and roommates, while being careful not to insult the Marauders. Remus may be calm, but he was also VERY loyal to his loved ones. Remus rolled his eyes yet again.

"They don't bloody hate you, Lily, and you know it! They just don't know you, is all. All they know is the person you present them with, which happens to be a-"

"Scary, school-obsessed bookworm who doesn't know how to dress herself to please the young men? Yeah, well, I don't care what they think of me. I am going to go sit with people who actually know ME and don't judge me. The girls know I'm not some freak, or any of those other charming names I know people whisper behind my back." Inside, Lily knew that wasn't quite true, but she wasn't about to let Remus know that. With her hands on her hips, she ready to start a full-on debate with Remus. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Look, I just didn't want to make you feel...I don't know, left out or something. We just seem more distant in school." Remus shrugged and looked at the floor, in an attempt to look humble and hurt.

"Cut the crap. I'm sorry I got all defensive, alright? And I don't feel like I can't hang out with you, it's just it would be weird for me to hang out with your friends a whole lot, and you know it." Lily said, a smile on her face and arms now crossed in front of her chest.

"Not true. You're more than welcome to hang out with us, whenever you want. They wouldn't think it was weird at all!" Remus said, indignant.

"Bulloks! You and I both know it'd be some sort of sibling space invasion, though they wouldn't know it." Lily said, skeptic at the idea of her even sitting with those boys being seen as "normal".

"Whad'dya mean by that?" Remus asked, confused.

"Do they know we're related?" Lily asked. Remus' look of confusion was replaced by one of guilt.

"Well, there hasn't really been an appropriate time-" Lily cut him off

"No excuses necesary. It's not like either of us are flaunting it, or hiding it for that matter. It's actually easier that not that many people know, could you imagine how many girls would pester me until I got them a date or something with you? I know of so many girls that are crushing on you, it's actually quite creepy. Thank Merlin that Izzy doesn't!" Lily said, pretending to wipe off her forehead, as if she had been nervous or something.

"Wait, Isabel knows?" Remus asked, shock evident in his voice.

"Well, yeah. It's not that big of a deal. We were just talking about families and stuff, and she asked if I had any siblings, and I had said I have a sister, Petty, and that you were my stepbrother. She didn't like faint or anything. It's not like we discussed in detail every aspect of my life, but we've been best mates since year one. It was bound to come up." Lily said, shrugging. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Lily raised her eyebrows at Remus.

"You okay? You're staring out into space." Remus shook his head, awakening from his daydream.

"Um, yeah, I was just trying to picture a situation where it would be so casual to say that. I wonder how the boys would react..." Remus tilted his head, thinking.

"Oooookay... It's not some big deal or anything, and why would they care? The only time I talk with any of them is if we have to for class, or me telling Potter to go away and stop pretending like he wants to go out with me or whatever his issue is."

"I dunno. It's just a bit odd, to know someone for so long, then find out they've had stepsisters all this time... it would just be weird."

"Okay, well, whatever. You have the money, I gave it to you, right?" Remus nodded. "Alright, then, I'm going to go find Izzy before you get all philosophical and stuff. I don't want a headache just yet. I'll see you after the trolley comes around, because we have to patrol. Don't forget... you don't want to have to depend on my memory, now do you?" Smiling, Lily walked in the opposite direction to find her friends. Remus turned around and strolled to the very last compartment, where James and Sirius were currently playing Exploding Snap as Peter watched.

"Remus! Look who finally decided to join us! We haven't seen you for ages!" Sirius through up some Exploding Snap cards in "celebration". In retrospect, not the smartest thing he could have done. After the smoke cleared, Sirius was left with one eyebrow and Peter tried to douse the fire which had started on top of his head. As James put out Pete's fire, Sirius cast a spell to fix his eyebrows. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Please, I was gone for 25 minutes, 30 at most." As they began to set up for another game, Remus pulled out a book from his bag. James looked up at him, a curious look on his face.

"Hey, Moony, by any chance did you see Lily in the meeting?" He asked, trying to be casual. Both of Remus' eyebrow rose.

"Yes..." Remus answered, hesitantly. "Why?" James shrugged.

"Did she mention our widdle Jamsie-wamsie, by any chance?" Sirius asked, as James' cheeks captured a slightly pink tint. Remus relaxed a bit. James wouldn't ask him about her now that Sirius has teased him about it.

"No. But I only spoke to her for a few minutes anyways. We are patrolling later, though, so I'll make sure to mention Jamsie here said hi..." Remus grinned evilly at James, who's blush got a bit brighter and he tried to hide behind a textbook.


	3. It's All About the Karma

**SUMMARY:** AU. No matter what he did, James couldn't get Remus to help him in the pursuit of Lily Evans. He begged, he pleaded, he bribed, but Remus just flat out refused to help. Why? Well, would you help someone break the heart of YOUR sister?

**DISCLAIMER:** As you all know, everything is J.K. Rowling and I am insanely envious.

**Chapter 3: All About The Karma**

Lily smiled as the lady with the food cart entered. She hadn't eaten since breakfast and was STARVING. Taking some money out of her pocket, she paid for a few pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, and a slab of Honeydukes chocolate. She knew Remus would probably need some energy, he was always so tired near the full moon and she didn't want some stray spell or something to knock him out. Putting the food in her bag, save for a chocolate frog and the slab of chocolate, Lily looked at her watch.

After quickly eating a chocolate frog and handing the card to Izzy (she collected them and had around 600 or something), Lily stood a stretched. Sighing, she turned to the girl, who was currently muttering to herself about "Velcron the Victorious " or something along those lines.

"Well, I suppose he finally took my advice and fell asleep. I hate to wake him, but I can't patrol on my own. I'm going to go find him. Be back in around an hour, okay?" Lily's best friend Isabel Garcia, more commonly known as Izzy, just nodded absent-mindedly as she began to sort out her many chocolate frog cards, trying to make sure she didn't lose any.

Izzy was an average-sized girl, a little taller and curvier than Lily, with long, stick-straight raven hair that ended somewhere near the middle of her back. She had thick rimmed, square shaped glasses that fit well with her naturally, lightly tanned face and eyes lined with purple eyeliner to complement her light brown eyes. At the moment, she had on a pair of low slung black jeans and a comfortable purple t-shirt.

Lily smiled politely to the other girls in their compartment, the girls they shared dormitories with, who just waved impaciently, then quickly got back to their gossip. Lily was never one for chit-chat, which is one reason why she was really only close with Izzy. The other girls were nice, but she and Izzy just stood apart from them. Lily had a few friends here and there, people she might sit with in the classes she wasn't with Remus or Izzy or people she might study with, but really she wasn't close with all that many people. Lily didn't mind. In fact, it was preferable. Izzy and Lily understood eachother and were practically inseperable. Izzy and Remus were all Lily needed.

Every year, Izzy and Lily sat with a few of the girls they lived with, along with a few of those girls' friends. Every now and again, the pair would leave the compartment, walk around a bit or something, but they always sat with them. Why? Mostly to keep from sitting a a compartment full of Slytherins or something, but also because as long as they were there, the girls didn't bother them. They were kind of ignored so long as they showed up and sat with the giggling group, but if they didn't, question after question would be asked and it would never end. The other girls "worried" about them, but really, they just wanted to know every single detail about Hogwarts for the gossip train. It was easier to be left alone if they stayed within the vicinity of the group, proving they had nothing to hide.

Mostly, Lily and Izzy talked amongst themselves or read and kept themselves occupied. Lily smiled at the thought of Izzy's reaction when she realized she was in the compartment alone with the gaggle of girls they did their best to ignore. Laughing to herself, Lily walked to the end of the train, in no particular hurry. Hopefully, Remus would be up by now and she wouldn't have to be in there for long. Those boys had the tendency to stare at her when she spoke, as if she was speaking some kind of alien language, and it was quite unnerving. Plus, both Black and Potter were total gits who always had some smart remark... they all just bugged her. But, they were amazing friends to Remus, so she held her tongue.

When she reached the compartment, she slid open the door and was glad (and slightly annoyed) to see Remus asleep.

"Whad'dya want, Evans?" Black said, after Lily just stood there, not saying anything.

"Oh, I just came to get Remus." Lily said, shrugging. Already her skin was prickling. Without looking, she knew that Peter boy was staring at her, eyes unblinking. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin.

"Sorry, Lily. He's asleep. But I'm not. Would you like to go find an empty compartment and have a bit of fun?" James asked, eyebrows raised suggestively. Lily just ignored him, directing her words towards Sirius. She wished Pettigrew would stop staring, it was making her quite nervous and setting her on edge.

"I realize he's asleep, but we have to patrol." Lily looked over at Remus again. He still looked exhausted. Sighing, she realized she shouldn't wake him. He needed his rest.

"Well, Evans, I'm sorry but-" Lily cut Sirius off, dragging her eyes away from Remus' limp body, which would have looked dead if not for the slight rise as fall of his chest.

"Look, nevermind. I don't want to wake him up. I can handle it. Do me a favor and give this to him when he wakes up? Make sure he eats it all, ok?" Lily asked, handing Sirius the bar of chocolate. As soon as she produced the chocolate, she knew Pettigrew had stopped staring at her, much to her relief.

Eyeing the boys suspiciously, voice full of worry, she asked, "Can I trust you not to eat this? It's actually quite important that he gets this." Sirius nodded, losing his playful excitement at the idea of getting chocolate when he heard Lily's tone.

"Why is it so important?" James asked, curious at why Lily was so insistant that Remus eat the chocolate.

"It'll make him feel a bit better. It's supposed to be a remedy or something, I think for like exhaustion or when you get knocked out or something. Madame Pomfrey was telling me about it before." Lily answered, surprised James actually asked a question aside from "will you go out with me?". Turning around, Lily was opening the door when James suddenly called out to her.

"Lily?" James asked, Lily turned around. "Go out with me?" James asked quickly, almost as if he wanted to catch her off guard. Lily rolled her eyes and turned around, leaving the compartment. James smiled triumphantly as he leaned back in his seat.

"What are you so happy about? You just got shot down... again." Sirius asked, placing the chocolate near Remus, but away from Peter's piggy hands.

"Ah, ah, ah. Correction, my friend, she didn't answer. That leaves plenty of room for interpretation! No answer is a step up from a flat out 'no'!" James said, smiling knowingly at his friend. Sirius just shook his head

"Whatever you say, mate, whatever you say. Up for a game of cards anyone?" Sirius asked, smiling flashing as he brought out a deck of exploding snap. The three began a game as quiet as they could, to keep from waking up Remus, as they discussed possible pranks to start out the new school year.

Lily walked down the corridor and back into the compartment where Izzy was sitting, head against the window, trying to tune out the mindless chatter. As soon as she saw Lily, she smiled gratefully and the pair grabbed their robes, walking into an empty compartment to change. Lily pinned her prefect badge on her robes.

"Izzy, mind patrolling with me a bit? I'm supposed to go around with Remus, but he's been dead tired lately and he hasn't been sleeping, but he finally fell asleep and I didn't want to wake him-" Izzy cut her off.

"Say no more. I'd be happy to fill in. Let the boy sleep. I wanted to get away from all of them anyways." The pair walked out and began to patrol a bit, thankful that the corridors were mostly empty. That meant there probably wouldn't be any major commotions to deal with and their patrolling would go by peacefully.

"Oh, Lily, watch out!" Izzy warned, as she saw the door to a compartment open suddenly. But, the warning was a bit too late. Bang. Lily had walked straight into the door, her face facing Izzy. Both of them broke into a set of giggles as the poor first year who opened the compartment began to apologize profusely.

"Thanks for the warning, Izzy." Lily said sarcastically, her friend still laughing. Turning to the first year, Lily smiled.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, honest. We just heard voices and they wanted me to check and I'm so sorry! Are you hurt? I can't believe I did that! And you're a prefect and everything, I'm so sorry-" Lily cut the little boy's babbling off.

"Calm down, it was my fault. Really, it's not a big deal, I run into things all the time, ask my friend here, she'll tell you." Lily motioned to Izzy, who was still laughing, for no particular reason. Izzy nodded.

"How did you know I was a prefect?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well, your badge, for one. My brother is in his fifth year and he just got one, this summer." The boy said shyly, looking down.

"What's your brother's name?" Izzy asked, who was now calm enough to speak.

"Oh, it's Daniel, Daniel Donavan. He's in Gryffindor. I'm Patrick, by the way." He extended his hand, now reminded of his manners. In turn, both girls shook his hand as Lily introduced them.

"I'm Lily Evans, and this is Isabel Garcia." Izzy cleared her throat. "Fine, whatever. This is Izzy, she doesn't like to be called Isabel. We're in Gryffindor, too. I think Izzy here tutored a Daniel last year, didn't you?" Lily turned to Izzy, who nodded her head. Patrick smiled, less nervous than before.

"I've heard about you. Daniel used to write me all the time, telling me about everything. He can write REALLY long letters. I remember he wrote about a girl named Isabel a LOT." Patrick said, smiling broadly. Izzy looked awkward and glanced at Lily, who was currently coughing in an attempt to hide her giggles.

"Here that, Izzy? Patrick here has heard all about you!" Lily said, teasing her friend.

"Oh, that's... that's really... sweet." Izzy said, trying not to sound too creeped out. She had tutored Daniel the year before, in potions. The boy was good at charms and spells and such, but was a mess with potions, so she helped him out a few nights each week. Lily often teased that he had a crush on her, but Izzy always told Lily she didn't know what she was talking about. Now, Lily was smiling knowingly at Izzy, "I told you so" written all over her face. Glaring at her slightly, Izzy turned towards Patrick.

"Well, we really must be going. See you at the sorting!" Izzy said, as politely as she could, and pushed Lily slightly farther down the corridor as the young boy closed the door to his compartment. Continuing to patrol, the girls laughed and talked freely, excited at the thought of being back to Hogwarts, their home.

Groggily, Remus opened his eyes to see James and Sirius playing chess while Peter slept. Groaning slightly, he stood up and stretched, alerting James and Sirius that he was awake.

"Sleep well, mate?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded and looked around.

"I'm hungry. When does the trolley come around?" Remus muttered, partly to himself and partly to the others.

"Oh, well, it comes about... an hour ago." James said, amused at how disoriented his friend was.

"What? Oh, bulloks! Why didn't anyone wake me! Lily and I were supposed to go patrolling and she'll be so-" Remus was cut off by James.

"Mate, she came by after the trolley. Didn't want to wake you, said she could handle it. Look, she even left you a present!" James said, a little overbrightly (to hide his bitterness- HE never got any gifts form Lily.), handing Remus the chocolate, who accepted it gratefully. Even after his nap, he was still feeling a bit exhausted.

"And she made it very clear that it was important you eat ALL of that. And we get to watch you do it too." Sirius said, only a bit of glum in his voice. James elbowed Sirius.

"Don't listen to him, Moony. He's just a bit hungry." He handed Sirius a box of Bernie Botts Every Flavor Beans.

"There you go. Eat those." To Remus, James muttered, "That should keep him busy for hours." Remus snickered slightly and peeled the wrapping off of his chocolate. Taking a bite, Remus could already feel strength returning to his aching limbs. He thanked Merlin that something so simply helped make him feel that much stronger. Chocolate tasted much better than any of the other potions and medicines he might of had to take to get the same effect.

"Thanks. I should go find Lily and thank her for the chocolate. She's always looking out for me." Remus smiled and finished his chocolate.

"Hey, wait up, I'll come with you. Peter's asleep and Sirius is about to fall into that box. I'm bored out of my skull." Remus smiled uncertainly. He knew James was just coming to hit on Lily, again, and he'd have to listen to it. Sighing, he shrugged and the pair left. By then, Lily had returned to her compartment and another pair of prefects had taken over patrolling.

"And then, he was all 'No, don't' and I was all like 'But I have to' and he was all like 'But, I don't want you to' and I was all like 'But I have to' and then, he was like 'But you can't' and I was all like crying and sad and miserable and like 'I have to' and-" The air-headed, annoying voice was cut off by a groan, and Remus heard a familiar voice.

"Merlin! I can't listen to this anymore. We all know how it ends! He kisses you, you decide not to leave and the play ends! You've told this story already! I can't listen to it again. I think I'm going to go for a walk. Coming?" Lily asked Izzy, who followed her outside the compartment and straight into Remus and James.

"Oh, sorry. Wasn't looking where I was going and-" Lily had been brushing off her clothes as she spoke, but now she looked up.

"Remus! You woke up! How do you feel? Are you feeling better? Did they give you the chocolate?" Lily asked the last question, eyeing James with preemptive furiousness. Remus laughed.

"I feel fine...well, I feel better, at least. Don't worry about me. This one here wouldn't even let me leave the compartment until I finished all my chocolate, like a good boy." Remus saying, pointing at James. Lily smiled.

"Good. I'm glad. Thanks, Potter. Anyways, me and Izzy here are going to go for a walk, so we'll see you later." Lily and Izzy began to walk off, when James called out to them. _Go for the sensitive angle, _James thought to himself, _apologize and be polite. She likes nice guys...girls like nice, polite guys who aren't womanizers. That's what she said before...isn't it? I can't remember. It's hard to listen when she's so pretty when she gets mad and its just- _James realized Lily was staring at him, waiting for him to say something.

"Wait, Lily. I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier, but I was wondering if you'd maybe like to go out with me some-" James was cut off by a sudden set of squeals.

"Oh my Merlin! There is NO WAY James Potter was standing outside MY compartment and didn't first come in to say hello!" A voice shrieked from inside the compartment, trying to be funny. "Jamsie! I haven't heard from you since we ..well... got together last month!" She winked at him, "You haven't written at all, you cutie!" Annabell threw her arms around James' neck and kissed his cheek, whispering something in his ear that made his cheeks color slightly.

Annabell Martin, the leader (and virtually only member) of the James Potter Fanclub in the school, still had her back towards Lily and Izzy, who were currently pointing their fingers down their throats, pretending to gag. James caught Lily's eye and attempted to look apologetic, but Lily just rolled her eyes and waved, a smirk on her face. Izzy whispered something in Lily's ear that caused her to giggle so hard she had to stuff her fist in her mouth to stifle it.

Remus shrugged at James and mouthed that he'd see him later, ignoring the "please save me" look James was currently sending him, and walked off to go join Lily and Izzy. If James could get himself into this, he'd have to get himself out. Remus warned him meeting with Annabell over the summer would come back to bite him in the arse, and now it has. All about the karma, as Lily would say.


End file.
